penney



' (No Model.) Y

I'. M. PENNEY. y BLAYING GARD BOARD.

Patented Jani. 17. 1.888.

UNITED STATES PATENT *.O'Frcn.

FRED M. PENNEY, OF WTERVILLE, NEW YORK.

PLAYING-CARD BOARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part f Letters Patent No. 376,484, dated January 17, 1888.

Application tiled February 2.8, 1887. Serial No. 229,077. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concern: Be it known that I, FRED M. PENNEY, of Waterville, in the county of Oneida and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Playing-Card Boards; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference beinghad to the accompanying d rawings,and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form part of this specification. My invention relates to a card-board; and 1t consists in the mechanism hereinafter more fully pointed out and claimed.

Figure 1 represents a perspective view of my improved card-board. Fig. 2 represents a vertical central section of the same.

In usingglazed playing-cards upon a smooth table great difficulty is experienced in picking up the cards from the surface of the table. I overcome this trouble by providing a cardboard having a slightly iexible and elastic surface, which may be supported on the surface of any ordinary table, or the same may be supported on the laps of the players. In either case the cards can be gathered and taken from the board With much greater ease and rapidity than from the smooth surface of the table.

In constructing my improved card-board I provide frame 1, of suitable size, into which is Over the up-A litted skeleton frame 2, Fig. 2. per surface of the skeleton-frame I stretch layer 3, consisting of canvas or duck, or any other fibrous material having slightly elastic and flexible qualities. This duck or its equivalent is drawn over the skeleton frame tautand tacked or otherwise held to the skeleton frame. I place over` the duck or its equivalent flannel, 4, of suitable color and thickness. This material has, when stretched taut over the skeleton frame and duck, a slightly elastic and fieXible surface. The two classes of material forming the surface of the board may be constructed of any woven fibrous material, or leather or their equivalent, so long as the surface oflhthe card-board has a yielding flexible surface, Without departing from the spirit of my invention. In Fig. 2 ofthe drawings the dotted lines indicate the vibration of depression produced on thesurface of the card-board when the cards are taken therefrom.

Skeleton frame 2, with the liexible surface fastened thereon, is placed 'inside of frame 1,' the upper surfaces of the two being brought to the same line, when skeleton frame 2 is fastened to the outer frame by screws, nails, or theiry equivalent.

The purpose of the construction hereby de- .scribed is to provide a card-board having a slightly tieXible surface substantially flush with the upper edge ofthe frame, from Which the cards may he easily picked or removed.

A table thus constructed is cheap, durable, and much preferred by card-players to a table having a hard smooth surface.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is'- A. p'layingcard board consisting of a frame having the surface covered with slightly-flexible material in such manner as to form a taut iexiblc surface, the top side or edge of the frame being substantially flush with the flexible surface,- substantially as set forth.

In Witness whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRED M. PENN EY.

Witnesses:

EDWIN H. RIsLEY, D. MoGUoKEN. 

